It is pretty rare for the Chiefs offense to struggle as they did against the Colts. Like many Chiefs fans, I was sitting with my eyes glued to the screen for the game yesterday against the Colts. Unfortunately, too many fans disappointedly watched the Chiefs offense struggle and seemingly implode. There were many moments during the game when I was too surprised by the play calls and simple mistakes. I was just disappointed throughout the whole game. Let’s go through some of the Chiefs offensive struggles against the Colts.
Kick Return Miscues:
This starts with Skyy Moore. When you have a returner who has no college experience as a kick or punt returner, that seems like an issue. When you have a very solid returner in Hardman on the roster and you aren’t using him that seems like a missed opportunity. Skyy Moore was not the only rookie at fault in the return game. Isiah Pacheco made some questionable choices in the kick return game. There were moments when he would catch a kickoff deep in the endzone and would bring it out to the 15 twice or the almost disastrous play when he fumbled the ball at the five and was lucky to be able to fall on it.
Kicking Struggles:
Not having a top-two kicker in the game due to injury is already putting you in a tough position. However your replacement kicker Matt Amendola did well in the previous game. So the bar was set very high for this game. I think most people would expect some sort of fall off but how bad he looked was very surprising. It’s obvious to point to the missed extra point and missed field goals. For me, the most shocking part was the fake field goal. I had no words when that happened because If you don’t have faith in your kicker to make a 38ish-yard field goal why are you on the team?
Play Calling Questions:
On the 4th and 11 from the Colt’s 24 if you want to go for it that’s fine. But why do you run a play where your right-handed punter rolls left? More on that point if you decide to go for it why do you take the offense off the field? If you asked the Colts staff who they would rather see on a fourth down attempt Patrick Mahomes or Tommy Townsend? With running the fake field goal I think you make your kicker’s confidence drop. Also, it may hurt your quarterback’s confidence at the moment. Because he could take it as you not trusting him to make a play to get 11 yards.
Missing Deep Throws:
As Chiefs fans, we don’t often see Mahomes miss deep throws but it happened a few times on Sunday unfortunately a common factor of missed deep passes downfield is Mahomes to Marquez Valdes-Scantling he and Mahomes just haven’t been able to connect on deep passes so far this year. My working theory is MVS is a puzzle piece the Chiefs haven’t figured out yet. They are working to find his place that’s why you see Mahomes try to get a few passes to him early. I think they feel that he just needs that connection once and everything will fall into place.
Colts Pull Out a Win vs Chiefs
Dropped Passes:
There were a few moments that were very uncharacteristic for this team. Travis Kele had a few dropped passes and one in the endzone that could have put the game away. To Kelce’s credit, he took ownership after the game. Which is one of the reasons I’m not concerned about his drops. With Justin Watson, I’m more concerned. He couldn’t fit in Tampa Bay and I’m wondering if drops were a part of that. He had a beautiful downfield pass from Mahomes that hit him right in the hands that he flat dropped. But he and Mahomes have a good connection so I think they will have the ability to figure that out. But it is still a mild concern on my end.
Personnell Questions:
I have a few questions about the offensive personnel. You have a tight end in Jody Fortson who is a converted receiver. Who runs good routes, has great speed, and has great leaping ability. He looked great in the preseason. When he goes out and gets eight snaps when he is a walking matchup nightmare it is a little confusing. With Skyy Moore, you have a receiver who is great against man coverage because of his release off the line of scrimmage. Moore is a great route runner and he also only gets eight snaps with zero targets.
Overall Thoughts:
This game was hard to watch there were so many offensive struggles. Our O-line struggled with blocking the stunts that the Colts were throwing at them. Mahomes didn’t take the easy throws and check downs. Strange coaching calls and just all-around sloppiness lead to them losing a game they could have won. Not just won but by a comfortable margin. How the Chiefs respond to this loss against a very tough opponent in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will show what kind of team they are this year.
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